The Association: album by album thread

Hi there. I utilized the search feature here looking for an album by album thread on The Association and was unable to find one. If such a thread does exist, Gorts please feel free to delete this one.

Okay, with that out of the way, does anyone here love The Association as much as I do? Is there any interest in doing a thread covering all the brilliant music created by the original incarnation of this fantastic group? (Talking 1965-72, basically.)

My own take on this is that, while they are more or less considered as a "singles" group today, The Association produced many LPs that are consistent pleasures, filled top to bottom with amazing music. I would love to shine a little light on this fantastic group, who have sadly seemed to fall through the cracks, despite having two of the top 10 songs ever played on American Radio.

I'd like to include non-LP singles as well here, so while I'm excited to be starting off with their brilliant debut And Then... Along Comes The Association, let's begin by discussing the two non-LP singles that proceeded it: "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" and "One Too Many Mornings". They're both fantastic, and give a real glimpse into the early days of this band.

Who's ready to form an Association Admiration Aggregation?

 

"Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You"/ "Baby Can't You Hear Me Call Your Name?" (Jubilee #5505)



This fantastic kick-off single already showcases the talented multi-part harmonies that would be this group's stock-in-trade. The folk-rock stylings of the a-side (written by Anne H. Bredon and later popularized of course by Led Zeppelin on their first LP) were quite forward thinking for 1965, and would have sounded great on the radio were the failing Jubilee label sufficiently able to promote it. I'm certain this melancholy beauty of a performance was quite unlike anything on the radio at the time, although its somber tone didn't exactly scream "Boss hitbound". Still a remarkable performance.

 

The b-side is a great harmony/ folk number that showcased strong unison vocals, as well as a softer approach. Dig Terry Kirkman's recorder solo! As with the a-side, the jazz harmonies on the last note offered a hint of the greatness that we were all in store for.



Okay, so what say you?

 

Sorry, I probably should have entered this first for those who are unaware of the group's history. Per Wiki:

 

I love the first three Or four albums a lot! Great 60s pop!

 

I didn't know about that Date 45...thanks!

I proudly own all their albums, and rate the mono version of "Birthday" among the best pop albums of all time.

The debut LP has two killer hits in "Cherish" & "Mary"...and a great opening cut in "Enter The Young". This album also has one of my favorites by them, the Addrissi Bros.' "Don't Blame It On Me".

I always dismissed these guys as lightweight...and it's a shame since I didn't realize what I had been missing for so long.

 

Thanks for chiming in, guys... I was afraid this thread was headed for the great gig in the sky!

One thing I love about this first 45 is that it really showcases the folky roots of the band, emanating as they did out of The Men. (And wouldn't it be great to hear tapes of that group someday!)

Does anyone want to chime in with their impressions of this first 45? If not, I'm going to move on to their Valiant Records debut single, "One Too Many Mornings".

Sunset Sam, I bet you're glad you decided to take a flyer on The Association. There's some definite connections with The Monkees there. I'll expound on that more when we get to the Renaissance LP, which I view as The Association's Headquarters.

 

That Jubilee 45 is one of the few Association discs I haven't been able to find yet (that and a mono Birthday).

I say yes yes yes to a comprehensive thread.

 

I have the first two albums on Vallant in mono and stereo and A copy of the first album reissued on Warner Bros. records in Stereo. I have never seen a copy of Renaissance on the Warner label? Does anyone have one?

 

Love Pandora's Box of Hebegebes.

 

Nice thread, thanks-All I have is the Warner-Seven Arts Record WS1767 (S39433) LP Greatest Hits, I need to dive further...

 

I'd never heard Babe I'm Gonna Leave You before. I liked it, but yeah it was hardly gonna be a hit. My favourite songs off their debut album are the more miserable songs...actually thinking about it, for a kinda sunshine band they had their share of miserable sounding songs. I'd say this one has more personality than some of the debut - stuff like Enter the Young and Cherish always sounded a bit anonymous to me, so this was actually a nice surprise.

 

Never imagined that the Association had ever listened to Joan Baez. Then again, until reading this thread, I never knew the Association had recorded "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You."

 

I have been a major Association fan since I was a little boy. Insight Out is arguably my favorite LP of theirs, but I love them all. Great thread, I love it. Reason why the Mono version of "Birthday" is so rare is due to it being promo only and issued only to AM and FM mono stations.

 

Apparently there was a stereo release with catalog# WS-1704, but it is harder to find than most of the other Association LPs.

 

Thanks!

 

The Date 45 was not The Association, it was The Distant Cousins (I'd love to hear their sides BTW, "She Ain't Lovin' you No More" should have been a monster hit but only charted regionally in Cleveland & Detroit). Whoever posted that song screwed up. BTW that was 100% fake stereo. Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" is on the excellent 2 CD comp "Just The Right Sound" in mono, the way it was originally recorded. The "Date" cover was a bootleg CD made from needle drops.

 

I have a stereo copy of the debut LP with a mono cover and an oval stereo sticker. It was on the Valiant label but it long after Warners bought the label. I guess they had a lot of left over mono covers and stereo pressings. I purchased mine when their Greatest Hits LP was out of stock. It's possible that the first 2 albums only exist as Valiant pressings.

 

I have a stereo copy of the first album on the green Warner Bros. W7 label and a Candian copy on the gold Warner Bros. Label.

 

Was just listening to The Association opening up the Monterey Pop Festival. For a group purported to use studio musicians on their albums, their drummer sounded pretty damn good there to me.

 

I probably won't post much here because I am impatient and I am not knowledgable about recording details and matrix numbers of the original vinyl and the like and go album by album (honestly I have not listened to their first two in a LONG time). But I love the Association. I bought Insight/Out for 10 cents in a cool record shop back in the early 90s and was my introduction to them and I have been hooked ever since. I thought their first two albums were on the Valiant label (Along Comes The Association and Reniassance (they didn't pay the elementary school teachers enough back then--why can i never spell that word right--Renassisance) but who cares. I even picked up Waterbeds in Trinidad. Thank you Jason for starting this thread. Thanks for the info too! Favorite: "Everything That Touches You"

 

Yup, the debut exists on both gold and green WB label. I <think>I saw a green label copy of Renaissance once many years ago, but I may be imagining that.

 

This will be a good thread to learn more about this great band.
I've always had a soft spot for this band since I first heard "Never my love" back in the late 60s.
I have the first album on Valiant and Insight Out on Warners. Picked up the CD singles collection last year.

 

I begged my older sister and brother-in-law to take me to see The Association in 1968 when I was 14 years old. It was a new venue and they weren't prepared as far as traffic congestion or parking and we had to leave the car at an off-site lot 5 miles away and take a shuttle bus to get there and missed most of the show and got a refund. My very first concert experience - even though we actually missed it. I still like The Association.

 

Let me guess, would that venue be Blossom Music Center?